The city that never sleeps

While we were back in Connecticut for Thanksgiving we decided to take the kids into New York City.  It seems like every time we go there we have something new to see.  Thanks to me, our sightseeing trip started with us getting lost.  So, while not on our scheduled stops, we saw Chinatown, Little Italy, and the Bronx.  Last time we went I got us lost in Harlem.  At least this time it wasn't as bad. 

Luckily, the kids didn't seem to care too much about our detour.

 We also got to see the Statue of Liberty from a new angle.

Once we got back to Manhattan we started our day.

 First, Rob verified that we were in N.Y. City

 Then he checked to make sure that we were in Times Square

 Then came the gratuitous happy kids picture

 And more pictures of Times Square

Next stop - Toys r Us

 Two thumbs up

 Can you see what Cerah wanted?

 Maybe the dinosaur was mad because his nose itched

 Lunchtime!

 I can't believe it.  My name, in lights

 Anthony wants a guitar for X-mas.  So we told him to pick one

The Empire State Building

 Grand Central Station

 Rockefeller Center

 The Chrysler Building

 Large snowflake hanging from the street light

 St. Patrick's Cathedral.  What I wouldn't have given to go in there.

 Statue of man on horse near Central Park.

 Man with horse in Central Park

 Very crowded 5th Avenue

After looking at the architecture we moved on to the Central Park Zoo

See, here we are at the zoo

 We saw seals

 Polar Bears

 Deer

 Tropical Birds

and Monkeys

 Sorry, Monkeys...

On to my favorite place

The main branch of the New York Public Library

 I love the carvings at this library

Look, real old fashioned phones inside the library.  How cool is that!

 Marble walls and floors

Fresco paintings on the ceilings

and some weirdo on the steps outside

Finally, it was time to go to Build a Bear - the whole reason the girls wanted to go.

Hannah waiting for her bear to get sewn up

 Cerah and Morgan waiting for their dino's to get stuffed

 Here they are with their new babies.

Then it was back to the car park.  I love how creatively they came up with more room for cars

 And back on the road, heading home.



Saturday at the circus

Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey's Funundrum - the 200th year celebration was awesome.  We were a little worried at first because last year's circus experience was a big disappointment.  This one more than made up for it.

The people,

the band,

the clowns,

the ring master,

the chinese dragons,

the trapeze artists,

the acrobats,

the tigers,

the graceful ballerina,

the amazingly bendable women,

the strongest man on earth,

(seen here holding 1,224 pounds)

the tight-rope walkers,

the motorcycles,

the elephants,

the egyptians,

the pirates,

the high jumpers,

the daredevil motorcycle stunt,

and the flying chinese artists all made for a fun, wonderful, unforgettable experience.

Of course, we were sad to see the finale

but it was just as spectacular as the show.